Welcome to the site. Legal Research & Investigation (LRI) is a wide-ranging private investigation company based in Memphis, Tennessee. LRI offers a wealth of diverse and substantive investigative experience. We provide tailored solutions and effective communication. 

My 15-year experience as a Wall Street research analyst and financial investigator adds a unique dimension to LRI, whose reach extends beyond that of a typical private investigation firm.

I am easy to work with,  passionate about the research/investigative process, and fair.  The list below details the primary investigative and research areas I have pursued over the last twenty years - with the objective of integrating them into a full-service private investigation company.  

• As a legal investigator working directly with attorneys on behalf of their clients, I have led the investigative efforts on close to a hundred cases - in both the criminal and civil legal arenas. I have become particularly known for creative, detailed background investigations as well as for a friendly, non-threatening interview style that helps me to bond with people from all walks of life.

• I have worked as a financial analyst for a number of leading Wall Street firms, serving clients throughout the world. I specialized in creative research techniques, forensic accounting, and use of primary sources to uncover fraudulent and/or overvalued investments.

• My Wall Street career also involved valuing high growth private companies and taking them public as well as facilitating the issuance of secondary securities to public companies. I worked on over twenty deals with a value exceeding $5 billion.

• I operated a fugitive recovery (i.e. bounty hunting) business responsible for bringing over one-hundred fugitives to justice. Its success triggered a local news station to feature me as a lead story on the nightly news. My forte was using ingenuity and rapport-building to non-violently apprehend the most hard-to-find, "extreme" fugitives.

• I researched the issues and the opposition, published op-ed pieces, and headed up the blogging team for a well-known U.S. Senate candidate.

Please call or email me if you would like to confidentially discuss your case, free of charge. I look forward to hearing from you. 

David Childe, Principal
901.878.9124 (w)
901.230.3124 (m)
childe@legal-research-investigation.com

Primary Services Offered

For Attorneys: civil, criminal, collections, divorce, probate 
Full service legal investigation in anticipation of litigation
Outsourced paralegal work (e.g. trial notebook preparation)
Deep background investigations
Locating people (e.g. witnesses, heirs, debtors)
Locating missing and/or hard-to-find assets
Extreme, highly difficult locates: people and/or assets 
In-depth asset valuation, including forensic accounting

For Individuals
Research on almost anything!
Deep background investigations
Locating missing or hard-to-find people

For Businesses
Market research, including channel checks
Deep background investigations
Fraud investigations
Undercover investigations
Asset and company valuation
Due diligence on potential acquisitions
Deep financial analysis

Education/Awards

B.S. Economics, The Pennsylvania State University
40-Hour Certificate, Criminal Defense Investigation, C.D.I.T.C.
18 Credits, Paralegal Studies, Southwest Community College
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), The CFA Institute

"Best on the Street," The Wall Street Journal
"Best Stock Picker," The Street.com
"Home Run Hitter (Top 5)," Institutional Investor
"Up and Coming Analyst," Institutional Investor

Affiliations 

Memphis Bar Association
National Association of Investigative Specialists
Texas Association of Licensed Investigators
Mississippi Professional Investigators Association
Chartered Financial Analysts Institute

Samples of Research Papers/Presentations
 

David C. Childe, Wrongful Conviction Studies Highlight the Need for Ethical and Methodical Defense Investigation Using the Component Method, PI BYTES, March, 2006.

David C. Childe, Courts in Shelby County  Southwest Community College, Spring, 2008.

David C. Childe, The "Locate", A Cornerstone of Private Investigation, Memphis Lawyer, March/April, 2011.

David C. Childe, How Investigators Can Help Attorneys Win Cases, Speech to The Litigation Section of the Memphis Bar Association, December, 2011

Television Appearances

Modern Day Bounty Hunter, Lead story on Ch. 24 WPTY-ABC Memphis, April 29, 2004

State of The Computer Industry, Interview and lead story on CNBC